Eddie grinned. “Were you not the man who seized the largest marijuana growing farm with an estimated street value of $80-point-something million just a few months ago? Dismantled a meth smuggling ring—”
“Okay, okay, so you’re more than just a shootin’, tottin’ city cop. You still have a problem with people in authority?”
Eddie winced. The captain must have read his file. “Only when they put politics above serving and protecting people.”
“Or attempt to destroy the reputation of your partner,” Detective Briggs added. “I admire loyalty, except when it is misplaced. Is it misplaced, City Slicker?”
“I’d stake my reputation on his, sir.”
“So I heard. The name is Briggs or captain. I don’t go for no sir, yes sir like you city folks.” The detective indicated the chair across from his. “Take the load off. You too, Sally.”
Eddie waited until the woman sat then settled on his chair. “So how can I be of service, captain?”
Briggs chuckled. “Depends on whether your reputation is real or a mere fart in the wind.”
Eddie grinned. “Give me a chance and you can find out for yourself.”
He stared at Eddie then leaned forward. “I think I’ll just do that. I pulled somethin’ huntin’ a few weeks ago, so Sally here has been my legs, eyes and ears. But too many fresh faced detectives around here want to sink their teeth in my case and claim they bested Ol’ Bear, but I’ve got some juice left in these old bones. So if you have the time, go through the evidence and find me somethin’, by then I’ll be back on track.”
Eddie nodded. “I have time. When do I start?”
“Now. You’ll be workin’ with Sally.” Briggs grinned at the female cop, who pinched her right earlobe, her cheeks reddening. According to Baron and Kara, she had been passed over for promotion a few times. Briggs must have taken her under his wings.
“You see, City Slicker,” Briggs continued, reaching for a crutch propped against the wall behind him. “
You
were never here, but if you crack the case, I will owe you one.”
Eddie stood and wondered whether to offer the captain a hand as he struggled to his feet. Sally must have seen his reaction because she shook her head. Eddie waited for the captain to hobble to the door.
“How bad are things?” he asked as soon the door closed behind the old man.
“Pretty bad, so the chief’s pushing Ol’ Bear hard for results. He might act like we don’t need your help, but we do. He read up on you, you know. Liked what he read too.” Sally indicated the chair.
Eddie sat. “So how many robberies so far?”
“Six, four across the lake from your house and two on your side. The burglars are slick,” she continued. “They’re in and out. No broken locks or windows. No alarms. Nothing. At first, they targeted empty homes, just entering and grabbing. The fifth one, the couple renting the house woke up and busted them. They held the couple at gunpoint and trashed up the place all but good. At the last house, they roughed up one of the renters.”
Most criminals had a method of operation. They never change, unless something happened to prompt them to. He’d have to take a look at the files before he could say anything.
“Sounds like they are getting cocky,” Eddie said.
“And more violent,” Sally added.
“Have you talked to people with access to the houses?”
“Oh yes. We started with the rental companies and their employees, then the home security folks who wired the alarms, housecleaning companies, the yard guys. Clean as a whistle, every last one of them. We even investigated the guests to see if they knew each other or had a connection. We found nothing.”
“Do you have the files on all the robberies?”
Sally reached inside her breast pocket and pulled out a thumb drive. “All the interviews we did, lists and pictures of evidence collected are all here. Don’t you just love technology.”
Eddie nodded.
She went to a side table and fired up a desktop then turned and faced him. “Do you have access to a computer?”
“I do.”
“Then you can take this with you,” she indicated the thumb drive, “But right now I want to show you something and see what you think.”
While she retrieved the files, Eddie looked around. The office was clean and spacious with a metal file cabinet to one side and bookshelves crammed with framed certificates and pictures of the captain with who-was-who in the law enforcement giving him commendations. There was even one of him with the current president.
“Okay,” Sally said. “These are the interviews of the suspects we hauled in here for questioning. See if you can read some of them.”
Eddie studied each suspect, but none showed the usual telltale signs of lying—shorter sentences, rapid blinking, more fidgeting, more speech errors punctuated with ‘uh’ and ‘mm’, out of sync body language or sweating.
It was quarter to six when they stopped.
“I’ll look at the rest of them at home, make some notes and get in touch with you. If something jumps at me and needs immediate attention, I’ll call you.”
Sally scribbled a number on the back of a card. “That’s my direct line. On the back is my cell phone number.
Ol
’ Bear wants us to catch these guys before someone gets seriously hurt. As it is, they’re scaring away tourists and renters, which is the source of income for most folks around here. If you need to talk to the witnesses, I can arrange it.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Eddie got up and Sally fell in step with him.
“How is Mrs. Franklin?” she asked.
“Could be better.” Eddie frowned. “How do you two know each other?”
“I pulled her over for a broken tail light the day she arrived in town. I think I really scared her.”
Eddie saw the opening and took it. The trick was to not reveal too much. “No, it wasn’t you. Someone was and still is stalking her.”
Sally stopped. “Has she filed a complaint or gotten a restraining order?”
Her response was perfect. “No, but if you have time, I’d like to sit down somewhere and discuss it.”
She chuckled. “I have all the time in the world.” She extended her left hand and spread her fingers to indicate the pale skin on her wedding ring finger. “Recently divorced. No kids. I’ll follow you in my squad car. There’s a nice café a block from here.”
“Actually, I was thinking of going to a local pub. I heard it has the best buffalo burgers and garlic fries.”
Sally grinned. “Eichardt’s. It gets a little crowded during tourist season, but the food is worth the wait.”
***
Wearing only pantyhose and a bra, Amy held dress after dress against her body then threw them on her bed. She couldn’t find anything she liked. When she’d come up with this idea, she hadn’t thought beyond driving to Eichardt’s Pub. She needed something that would make her stand out. The more witnesses the better. Nolan liked to do things in the dark and hide his hand. Tonight, she planned to expose him.
“Decided yet?” Lauren asked, munching on an apple. She pushed some of the dresses to the side, sat, stretched out long legs displayed to the max by a short, black mini skirt and crossed her booted feet.
Amy shook her head. “No. I haven’t dressed up in years.”
“Told you, you needed to start dating. Has Raelynn warmed up to Fitzgerald yet?”
Amy chuckled. “Kinda. The boat did it. You know how she loves going out in it. He fixed it, now he’s her hero.”
“We all need one. From this pile,” Lauren patted the clothes on the bed and got up, “you need help.” She dumped the apple core in the bathroom garbage can then marched to the rack of clothes in the closet and flipped through them. “You seriously need a new wardrobe.”
“Why? I never go anywhere.” Amy found a black sweater dress. It hugged her body then flared from her mid-thighs. “What about this one?”
“Ah, the quintessential black dress no woman should live without. Try it on before I give my verdict.”
Amy slipped the dress on.
“Nah. Too much mother-in-law’s funeral. This one.” Lauren lifted a red dress with plunging neckline. “Put it on.”
The material was flimsy and hugged her hips, the hem reaching the middle of her thighs.
She’d never worn it, though it was one of the few clothes she’d bought to celebrate her divorce.
“You don’t think it’s too daring? I mean, I can’t wear a bra with it.”
“The dress is perfect, Amy. Flirty without being slutty. Do you have shoes?”
“Oh yeah.” Amy went under her bed and pulled out a storage box.
“Holy crap on a cracker, Amy. You’ve been holding out on me. So many designer shoes. Size seven and a half. That’s my size.” She slipped on a black pair of Manolo Blahniks. “Perfect fit.”
“Take them.” The shoes were about four years old and Amy had only worn them once.
“No way. I’d never.”
“Seriously. I have that pair in nude, my favorite.” Amy selected a pair of knee-length boots. They were perfect for the outfit. While Lauren tried flats, leather patent boots and peek-toe sandals, Amy slipped on the boots and zipped them up.
Lauren looked up and whistled. “Oh, I’d love to be a fly on the wall at that bar tonight. Now for your hair.”
A few minutes later, Amy studied her reflection and smiled. Her make-up was flawless. Her hair, long in front and short in the back, framed her face, the locks touching her eyebrows. The outfit was daring and sexy. What would Eddie think? Not that she’d dressed for him.
“Take my car,” Lauren said.
Amy cocked a brow. “Why? What’s wrong with mine?”
“It’s a clunker. Don’t want you out there in the dark alone with a conked out car.”
“You know what? You are a good friend.”
“I know,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “Go, go.”
“Just a sec.” Amy ducked into Raelynn’s bedroom for a tiara.
“What’s that for?”
“Raelynn.” Her daughter was curled up on the sofa, her blue eyes reflecting cartoon characters on the screen. Amy turned on the lights and smiled when Raelynn sat up, saw her and her eyes lit up.
“Mommy, you look pretty,” she said.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Be good to Aunt Lauren while Mommy’s gone.”
Raelynn’s lower lip jutted out. “But I want to go with you.”
“And I want you to come, sweetie, but I have to help Mr. Eddie with something. I’ll be back to read to my little princess,” she placed the tiara on her head, “and kiss her goodnight.” She touched Raelynn’s nose
She still frowned. “But I’m hungry and Sam bumped my elbow right here and it hurts.”
Amy lifted the arm with the imaginary wound and kissed it. “There. Aunt Lauren will put a band aid on your boo-boo and give you something to eat.”
“But I want you to—”
“Come with me, Munchkin,” Lauren interrupted her. “You and I are going to have a nice picnic on the boat. You get to choose what music to play while we eat.” Glancing at Amy, she wiggled her fingers, “Bye.”
Raelynn slid off the couch and took Lauren’s hand. “What is a munchkin, Aunt Lauren?”
“Adorable little people who love music, books and cotton candy ice cream.”
Amy watched them go. Raelynn had warmed up to Lauren after a few weeks of living at the lake house and even agreed to stay with her on Wednesdays while Amy went to Farmers Market. This was the first time Amy was going out at night and leaving the two of them alone. Choked with emotions, she left the house and headed for Lauren’s car.
The BMW purred gently as she narrowed the distance between her and Sandpoint. The past flashed in her head—she and her friends zipping off in the night in expensive cars, acting stupid and not caring about rules.
Amy came down North 5
th
Avenue, turned left and entered Cedar Street. Eichardt’s Pub was in a historic building with black and white paint job and floor to ceiling windows. Ahead was the famous Cedar Street Bridge Public Market. She found a place to park and started for the entrance.
Since she’d never been inside, she’d done a little research to get the layout—eatery and bar downstairs and gaming room upstairs—but the description hadn’t prepared her.
The place was packed; the patrons chugging ice cold mugs of draft beer and eating grilled burgers and garlic fries. This wasn’t a bar. The sweet aroma of spicy foods mixed with coffee said it all. It was a restaurant, coffee house and a bar all crammed in one room with dark wood paneling, a tap handle collection studding the ceiling and a large selection of domestic and specialty beers. Tourists in their designer summer clothes mingled with the locals in plaid. Once again, the past flashed in her head—her college years cut short by her pregnancy.
Silence filled the room, but she didn’t pay it much attention. She was busy searching for Nolan. No red baseball cap. No tawny hair. No Nolan. Eddie stood out at the end of the bar, his back to her. She couldn’t miss him if she tried.
He was so male and confident he’d draw attention wherever he went. Most men let their clothes wear them, but not Eddie. The polo emphasized his broad shoulders and the jeans hugged his powerful thighs and hips as though bending to his will.